The Minnesota Timberwolves have changed this offseason. The team has become younger. This season’s squad no longer includes Julius Randle, Kyle Anderson, Mike Conley, and Joe Ingles. In their place are younger pieces, including LaMelo Ball, Jonathan Kuminga, and Isaiah Evans.
Their projected starting lineup features four players 26 years old or younger. Of course, Rudy Gobert is the one outlier, with the starters at 34 years old.
The projected backup center behind Gobert is soon-to-be 20-year-old Joan Beringer. If Beringer proves ready for a bigger role, could Gobert become trade bait before the trade deadline? While it's technically possible, it's unlikely, and losing Gobert (even if they get value back) would be a tough blow.
Gobert is more likely to move on next season (if he does at all)
A four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Gobert is still elite on that end of the floor. He was named to the All-Defensive First Team for the eighth time last season. At his age, regression on that end is certainly possible, but given how he takes care of his body, it shouldn’t be extreme.
This could also potentially be the final year of Gobert’s current deal. His contract has a player option in the 2027-28 season worth $38 million.
The threat of losing Gobert for nothing would make trading the 7-foot-1 center more plausible. That could be doubly true if Beringer breaks out. Still, it feels more likely than not that he'd pick up this player option given his age and the ideal situation Minnesota offers.
Beringer’s ceiling is immensely high, which is why the fan base is excited to see him unleashed on the court much more than he was as a rookie. Perhaps he shines from the very start of the season, and he looks ready to take on an even bigger role.
Add the possibility of Kuminga thriving with the Timberwolves as the third or fourth option in the starting lineup, and it becomes clear Minnesota is at its best when they run.
If these things occur, Gobert could be seen as expendable.
I don’t see a Gobert trade happening this season, though. Trading Gobert would leave the team perilously thin at center. The backup would become Trey Lyles, who is more of a natural power forward. Even in the offseason, Gobert is too valuable to become a clear trade candidate.
Just because Beringer is playing well in a 15-to-20-minute role doesn’t mean he would do so if his playing time increased to 30–35 minutes. If he were forced to miss time after Gobert had been traded, well, good luck.
Letting Gobert walk if he opts out and the team decides to move on from him isn’t necessarily the same as losing him for nothing. It would mean losing him because it’s time to insert Beringer into the starting lineup.
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